This is a record of my journey as a Muslim. I used to be Catholic and belonged to a missionary organisation. After my conversion, I sat on the board of a Muslim converts' organisation and specialised in da'wah programmes, convert management, interfaith issues and apostasy cases. I am an initiate of a Sufi order. As such, the articles and writings tend to cover these areas.
All the Arabic and graphics could not have been done without the help of my wife, Zafirah.

Sunday, 29 June 2014

The Recipients of Zakat

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Zakat al-mal must be paid to
the eight categories of Muslims deserving of zakat as mentioned
explicitly in the Qur’an:

Alms are for the poor and
the needy, and those employed to administer the (funds); for those whose hearts
have been (recently) reconciled (to Truth); for those in bondage and in debt;
in the cause of Allah; and for the wayfarer: (thus is it) ordained by Allah and
Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom. (Surah at-Tawbah:60)

The fuqara’, the poor, are those who
earn less than half their basic needs.
The masakin, the destitute, are those who have less than even
that. The former do not have enough and
the latter have absolutely nothing.

The amilun ‘alayha, the workers of zakat,
are those assigned by the authorities to collect and distribute the zakat. They get a share because of the work involved
in collecting and distributing the zakat discreetly. This money may not be spent on their behalf
on equipment and utilities as some Muslim organisations have done so.

al-Mu’allafat al-qulubuhum refer to the new
converts to Islam and those in the process of conversion even if they have yet
to say the shahadah, those whose hearts are to be reconciled. So in this case, the recipients need not even
be Muslim. ar-Riqabah are the
slaves who are short in satisfying their contract for purchasing their freedom
from their owners. In the current
context, it also refers to economic slavery.
The priority is Muslims.

al-Gharimun are those who are
unable to pay their debts. Those who are
in debt due to straightened circumstances such as a failing in business, a
student loan or a housing loan; have precedence to those who are indebted due
to gambling, for example. As to the
latter, their addiction has to be addressed first, before the zakat is used to settle the debt, and
that only, as a last resort. Many
scholars and authorities would forbid the zakat used in such a manner
since the circumstances leading to it is haram.

Fi Sabilillah, refers to those
in the way of Allah (s.w.t.).
This is a broad category. In the
days of the Islamic state, it was used for the volunteer constabulary to
maintain peace and safety. It is used to
fund the scholarship of students when they travel to learn.

Abnah as-sabil, are the
travelers who do not have enough to enable them to reach their destination, the
stranded. The zakat is used to
enable them to reach their destination.

It is not permissible or valid to pay zakat
to other than those eight aswnaf specifically mentioned above. Hence, it is not valid to use zakat funds for to any charitable
project, hospitals, mosque building or such like. Orphans are also not included in the zakat
unless they fall under any of the aswnaf.

On the issue of how we differentiate between
those who are deserving of receiving zakat and those who are not, it is
written in Futuh al-Ghayb and elsewhere that a rich merchant approached
Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (q.s.), the mufti of Baghdad then, and
asked how he could find deserving recipients of zakat. The great shaykh said, “Give to them
whether they are deserving or undeserving, for Allah (s.w.t.) Gives to
you whether you are worthy or unworthy.”